Career Choices
by Kondoru
Summary: Haruka has chosen a Career; her father is not suprised.


MY CHOICE OF CAREER by Kondoru

Standard Disclaimers

Thanks to Ben for Betaing

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Oh, last time I forgot to recommend a Book

This is the `Little Book of Whittling` by Chris Lubkman

It's a very good book, not just for the wood butcher, but has many useful outdoors tips too. The style is very chatty without being silly. There are lots of useful pictures also.

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Now, what Chaos can I cause in the multiverse?

This story is set a few months after the end of Noein.

Taro Hagi was a ships captain who knew my Grandmother in the thirties; He was an artist and a gentleman.... Gomen nasai to his memory, and gomen nasai to the memory of my grandmother too.

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Dr Mayuzumi is sat on a park bench, he's eating lunch while he waits for an old ex classmate, one Taro Hagi by name.

There is a sudden minor displacement of air, the Doctor looks up, to find a stranger sat next to him.

This individual is very small; wearing ripped jeans, a very outdated Osaka football shirt, and a beanie hat. They have long purple hair tied in braids and brown skin. They are carrying a large laptop bag.

"You, is it?"

The singular person nods.

"I thought..."

The stranger holds up one brown hand. "I'm sure your philosophy can take it."

Dr Mayuzumi Nods sagely. "Many Worlds Theory?"

"Yup."

"So, how is Everyone?"

"I see them, sometimes." The stranger sighs, "The Orders been disbanded." He stretches. "Life in a monastery is ok, I suppose...Now I'm back on the streets."

Dr Mayuzumi looks down. "I'm sure I could find you work."

"No thank you!" The small stranger says with great feeling.

"I mean, work that didn't involve silly little things like Paradoxes." He looks up again. "That's a big worry of yours isn't it? You knew what happened when the Rulers tried to mess in things."

"Oh, yes, Paradoxes." The stranger adjusts his bag. "...And Lacryma. Dear old sorryarsed Lacryma." He looks at Dr Mayuzumi, his wide brown eyes full of feeling. "I don't go there anymore."

"I can't say anything to that." He paused. "Do you need anything?"

His companion shakes his head.

"Where do you stay?"

"Oh, here and there." His companion shrugs, "mostly I stay in this park."

"It's most sad that a person of your status has to sleep in the park."

"I've been in worst places. Many of them with roofs...Anyhow, what status? I'm just a street kid taken in by the Rulers of Lacryma to do Quantum alteration experiments on. The fact that I survived them and now work for myself is nothing."

"Yes, I've heard about your famous underground city." Dr Mayuzumi nods. "Do the authorities here give you any trouble?"

His companion gives a short barking laugh. "Um, actually."

Dr Mayuzumi closes his eyes. "Let me see." He laughs, "knowing you, they know all about you, and give you the odd backhander for tracing quantum disruptions." He laughs again. "I heard one of your Order was working for them but hadn't realised it was you. I thought it was..."

"...All of us, off and on." His companion shook his head; "we are Cops, in our own way."

"You didn't show yourself to me for no reason."

The small person shook his head, "no; I came to you to tell you about Haruka."

"Haruka, my Haruka," Dr Mayuzumi wrinkles his brow, "you're not about to tell me she's run off with your intense faced friend, are you?"

The stranger takes one look at the Doctor and begins to laugh.

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Less than a minute after Dr Mayzumis unexpected guest disappears, Taro Hagi turns up.

"Who was that person?" He asks. Sitting down, but not in the spot vacated by the apparition.

"Which person?" Asks Dr Mayuzumi wondering how Hagi had seen his visitant.

"The scruffy kid you were talking to."

"Ah, him. Do you really want to know?"

"Is it that bad?"

"Could be, yes." Dr Mayuzumi paused, looking over at the now unoccupied seat. "He's a Time traveller." He said slowly.

Hagi knew better than to laugh "from the past or from the future?" He asked.

"I think he's from the future...or more likely a possible future."

"Oh." Hagis curiosity was a bit unsatisfied "what was he talking about?"

Dr Mayuzumi shook his head. "Its Haruka."

"Your daughter?"

"Yes," he sighed and looked at Hagi "You know when we were kids, we all wanted to become Astronauts or Baseball players?"

"I wanted to be a pop star," admitted Hagi.

"Well, My daughter fancies herself a time traveller...she's really my daughter, isn't she?"

Hagi had to laugh. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"No, I think it's probably a good thing, My little friend is worried though."

"If he's a time traveller himself, isn't he looking after her?"

"Yes, he is, and I will say so are the others of his now disbanded Order. Habitual time travellers all tend to look out for each other." Dr Mayuzumi paused; "I'm told that there are two types of time travellers, those who do it just a few times, and those who are the true Nomads of the time streams."

Hagi smiled "I gather Harukas going to become the latter?"

Dr Mayuzumi smiled. "Yes. I should be proud of her, I suppose."

He made a mental note to ring Haruka, tell her not to interfere with things.

It was very dangerous, and no professional time drifter would attempt it.

Dr Mayuzumi sighed.

It was just like his daughter to try to improve Lacryma though.

She was his daughter after all.

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And now, I'm going to recommend a knife!

I like knives! (Don't get me wrong, I'm no knife bore...Really I'm a Hatchet bore.)

It's the Swiss Army Knife, the `pocket pal`.

This has just two blades, a big one and a small one.

I like Swiss Army Knives, and generally tend to go for ones with a few more blades. (That is what they are for, after all.) But the ones with `lots` of blades tend to be rather bulky in the hand. Get the `camper` or `fisherman` rather than the `Swiss champ`

There are, of course SAKs (as they are known to the aficionados) with memory sticks in these days too.

Don't forget that SAKs have a lifetime warranty, so they can be fixed or replaced when damaged.

"Hey, why don't you recommend `my` knife?" Says Karasu, giving me one of his evil looks.

"Yes, and I have one of those too." I say "Tell them about it, will you?"

Karasu sniffs disdainfully as if he's going to go into sulky mode. "It's a Higonokami, a traditional Japanese pocket knife with a laminated steel blade."

"Of course you would have something like that, wouldn't you? The katana for the masses."

"I'm the Hero here, aren't I?"

"No," I say sotto voice, "That's Yu. And before you go off to babysit him, tell the fans about knife safety, wont you? I know you know it cos you were sitting correctly in Ep two, remember?"

Karasu gets up, clearly sick of my company. "A sharp knife is a safe knife."


End file.
